Wayne Cavadi | NCAA.com | April 6, 2019

DII men's basketball programs with the most NCAA DII national championships

Northwest Missouri State completed its perfect 2019 season with its second national championship in three years, concluding the 63rd DII men's basketball national championship. Wheaton (Ill.) defeated Kentucky Wesleyan 89-65 in 1957 to start things off. Wheaton won its first and only championship game, the Panthers went on to 12 more titles games, winning an unprecedented eight along the way.

The last three national champions — Ferris State, Northwest Missouri State, and Augustana (SD) — were all first-time champions, until Northwest Missouri State changed the trend. Let’s take a look at the programs with the most national championships in DII basketball.

Kentucky Wesleyan, 8 (1966, 1968-69, 1973, 1987, 1990, 1999, 2001)

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The Panthers are the benchmark when it comes to DII men’s basketball. They have lost as many championship games (5) as the next closest has won. Kentucky Wesleyan’s resume is as impressive as any program at any level. The Panthers have made 19 appearances in the Elite Eight, 17 appearances in the national semifinals, and have registered 87 tournament wins along the way. Only UCLA has more national championships in college basketball than the Panthers.

Evansville, 5 (1959-60, 1964-65, 1971)

Evansville Athletics

Not only have the Aces won five titles, but the same head coach also hoisted the trophy every time. No head coach in DII men’s basketball has more titles than Evansville’s Arad McCutchan, and that evidently paid off on his players. Jerry Sloan helped lead the Aces to back-to-back titles in 1964 and ’65 before going on to a storied NBA coaching career himself. The Aces were the first team to go back-to-back in DII history and are one of four DII programs to finish a championship season undefeated.

Cal State Bakersfield, 3 (1993-94, 1997)

Cal State Bakersfield Athletics

A large part of the 1990s belonged to the Roadrunners, making six appearances in the national semifinals and winning three of their four national championship appearances in the decade. Head coach Pat Douglass led them to all three titles, with their 1993, 33-0 season one of the best in DII basketball history.

Virginia Union, 3 (1980, 1992, 2005)

The school that produced well-known NBA big men Charles Oakley and Ben Wallace also pumped out three national championship teams. The Panthers like to leave their mark across the decades, the only team to win one in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. If Virginia Union wants to keep that streak alive, they’ll have to find a way to sneak a victory in this season.

Teams with two

Six teams have won two titles now that Northwesy Missouri State joins the mix. Florida Southern picked up its second title in 2015, 34 years after winning its first. Central Missouri won its second title in 2014, 30 years after winning its first back in 1984, holding both of its opponents to 77 points. Winona State went to three-straight title games between 2006 and 2008, winning twice. What are the chances two Roadrunners appear on the list? Enter Metro State who played Kentucky Wesleyan in the championship game three times in four years, winning in both 2000 and 2002. And lastly, North Alabama won twice, once in 1979 before winning again in 1991.

A big weekend that saw 24 of the Top 25 wrestling teams in action ended with 12 changes in the NWCA poll, most notably Michigan’s jump from No. 6 to No. 4. The Wolverines edged out the Buckeyes 19-17 after winning the heavyweight bout between No. 8 Mason Parris and No. 19 Chase Singletary, 6-3. Here’s what you need to know about the latest NWCA rankings: